Graduation and more…

As many of you know, my primary focus has been finishing school and catching up on the many things that have been backlogged in past months. We’ve also been trying to make time to see some folks we lost touch with, providing a welcome break to the otherwise furious pace. Graduation this past Saturday marked a significant milestone for me, allowing a return to a less hectic schedule and giving me time to work on the creative projects that mean the most to me, including website redesigns, new recordings, and more video offerings.

Recording for a new CD of all-original music is pretty much done. Dave Eisenhower provided his considerable talent on drums for this project, and Mike Hickey is also scheduled to help out on one track. My attention is turning toward the artwork now, most recently with a photo shoot downtown with Marlin Wagner. I am very excited about this collection of songs – my most edgy and socio-political yet.

Last Thursday, Bloomsburg had an Artwalk with area artists and entertainers in town. Based largely around the new arts center, The Moose Exchange, there were a number of family-friendly activities throughout the downtown area.
The weather was great. Be sure to check out (and support) our new local record store Endless Records, inside The Moose Exchange (or online at www.EndlessRecordsBloomsburg.com). I am still surprised at the number of people in the area who do not know about events like this – even with everyone’s Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages – so please help spread the word about the great work people are doing.

The BU Alumni Players will meet this Wed to discuss their next production. If you want to get involved, please email me and I will pass your info on to Audra. Show dates are posted at www.shivasongster.com. Auditions have not been announced yet, but are open to the community as well.

The Bengal Assoc of Bloomsburg Area will hold their 10th Annual Bengal Diversity Festival in Town Park on Sunday, May 23. We’ll have the usual offering of music, dance and food. For more details, and the poster visit www.babaweb.org .

Anthony Avenue Ensemble will reconvene later this summer with possible appearances in the area, and I may be doing some light solo or duo performing just to get out and enjoy the local scene. I recently attended Some Kind of Jam 5 in Schuylkill County and saw some great bands. Though the scene there really wasn’t my thing, the music was inspiring.

My graduation present (from Audra) was not a guitar, but a new mountain bike, which you can see me riding around town, or on YouTube, along with experimental music soundtrack.